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Monday, May 21, 2012

New Ideas, Summer Vacation, and Color

My work art the san Francisco Fine Art Fair this weekend.
I was showing with ArtHaus Gallery.

Today is the start of a good week. It is the last week of teaching before summer break, and also the last time I will be working full-time. Next year I will be working until noon, then heading to my studio to paint for the rest of the day. That's easily 6-7 hours of painting time a day! I am extremely excited to once again make art my primary career.
Two years ago I had quit my job in order to paint full-time. I loved being able to spend ALL my time painting and not worrying about being too exhausted to paint after teaching all day. Unfortunately that didn't last very long since my husband and I suddenly found ourselves with no health insurance, and well, we really needed it. As much as I hated doing it, I went back to work, basically for the health insurance. Now my school is willing to let me work part-time in order to keep me on staff, and next year, I will be able to paint most of the day and still get health insurance for my husband and I. Oh happy day!

I am also pretty excited about a new series I have in the works. I'm not going to spill the beans just yet since I still have some things to work out in my head, but if it works out, I think everyone will like it. Let's just say that color may be working itself into my work, but not in a way you would think. I'll still be working on my "Forgotten Memories" series since, frankly, I owe a LOT of my galleries work still. But while I am working on those pieces, I plan on executing this new series and will hopefully be able to reveal it by the end of summer. I get so excited though and have a hard time not posting what I am working online so you may get a sneak peak earlier.

Lastly, I am continuing my instruction with Sadie Valeri on Flemish style painting. I'm really enjoying the break from what I normally do and the academic aspect of painting. It takes a lot of brain power out of me and I seem to be moving at a snail's pace, but I'm enjoying it and will probably continue through the end of the year. Here is the latest on the same painting I have been working on since the end of March:

This is my first pass of at least three, with color. In the almost five hours I worked on it, I only
managed to work on the copper pitcher, and even then, I didn't touch the right side much.
At this pace I may be done with this at the end of the year...

My painting in one of Lanoue Fine Art's window in Boston.

My work at Artpad SF this weekend. I was showing with 111 Minna Gallery.

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About Me

Jhina Alvarado is a self-taught artist who is represented by galleries across the United States. Her work has been featured in various international and national magazines, blogs, and art technique books. She currently works part-time as a calculus and pre-calculus teacher at the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts and paints full-time in her home studio in San Francisco.
Visit her website at www.jhinaalvarado.com